Cross-platform, multi-device protection. Good scores in hands-on tests. Includes firewall, file shredder, and many other bonus features.

Cons

Some so-so scores from independent labs. WebAdvisor's Site Report didn't work consistently in testing.

Bottom Line

A single subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you protect every Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS device in your household. It's quite a deal.

The days of purchasing a single antivirus utility for your single computer are long gone. The modern household brims with computers and computer-equivalent tablets and smartphones. How convenient, then, that one subscription for McAfee AntiVirus Plus lets you install McAfee security software on every Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS device in your household. Yes, Windows users get a lot more features than those on other platforms, but it's still quite a deal.

A McAfee subscription lists for $59.99 per year. That's hard to price-compare, because few other vendors offer unlimited licenses. The Panda Protection Advanced security suite protects all your Windows and Android devices for $34.99 per year, while the more feature-rich Panda Protection Complete goes for $74.99 per year. You pay $99.99 per year for unlimited installations of Total Defense Unlimited Internet Security, which gives you security suite protection for PCs and Android devices and antivirus for Macs. Most other competing antivirus products sell as one-, three-, or five-license subscriptions. For those odd ducks who really, truly want to protect just one PC, McAfee makes a one-license, Windows-only version available for $39.99.

To install McAfee on a Windows computer, you first go online and activate your license key. If you set up automatic renewal during the process, you get a Virus Protection Pledge from McAfee. That means if any malware gets past the antivirus, McAfee experts promise to remotely remediate the problem, a service that normally costs $89.95. In the rare event that they can't fix it, the company refunds your purchase price.

With that housekeeping out of the way, it's time to download and install the product. McAfee introduced a streamlined installer earlier this year, but I somehow got the old, multistep installer. My company contact confirmed that they do randomly assign a few users to get the old installer, to help ensure their changes are having a positive impact. I'm not sure how that helps, but even the old installer did the job with no hand-holding from me. Once I chose a complete installation, it walked through all the steps itself.

Once installation is complete, the product shows what it can do. It offers to run a scan, check for outdated applications, remove tracking cookies, and permanently delete files in your Recycle Bin. It also shows how to contact tech support, in case you're having trouble getting off the ground.

Earlier this year, McAfee redesigned the user interface for its security product line. The new, HTML-based interface has a menu at the top that breaks down product features into five main pages: Home, PC Security, Identity, Privacy, and Account. Down the left side there's a security indicator for your local computer as well as a list of your other protected computers, and a button to extend protection to more devices. I find the new interface to be both friendly and attractive, but it occasionally seemed sluggish, slow to respond to my clicks.

Mixed Lab Test Results

I always perform hands-on testing for my antivirus reviews, but I also pay close attention to the results reported by independent antivirus testing labs. These labs do their best to emulate real-world situations and evaluate how well each antivirus product performs. Of the four labs I follow, McAfee participates in testing with three, for its Windows products.

Around the time of my previous review, McAfee had just switched to a new behavior-based detection engine that they call RealProtect. Some of the lab test results available at that time predated the introduction of RealProtect. This time around, there has been enough time for testing to catch up with the latest engine.

I'll start with the bad news; McAfee failed both tests from MRG-Effitas. Note, though, that where other labs offer a numeric score or multiple certification levels, this lab's results are pass/fail. In the banking Trojans test, 83 percent of tested product failed. In another test using all types of malware, only Kaspersky Anti-Virus earned Level 1 certification, meaning it prevented all of the malware attacks. Of the remaining products, 60 percent failed. I give these pass/fail tests less weight when calculating an aggregate lab score.

On the bright side, McAfee did quite well in the three-part test reported by AV-Test Institute. It earned the maximum six points in the Usability and Performance categories, meaning it had few or no false positives and a low performance impact. A score of 5.5 for Protection brings its total to 17.5 points; any product that earns 17.5 or better earns the title Top Product. Note, though, that Avira, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro managed a perfect 18 in the latest test.

AV-Comparatives doesn't report numeric scores, instead assigning three levels of certification, Standard, Advanced, and Advanced+. I follow four tests by this lab, three of which include McAfee. It managed Advanced+ in the performance test, but in the malware protection and real-world protection tests it just took Standard certification. Avira, Bitdefender, and Kaspersky earned Advanced+ in all four tests.

I use a formula to normalize test results to a scale from 0 to 10 and then derive an aggregate result. McAfee's 7.9 point score is on the low side though, as noted, it did exhibit some high scores. Kaspersky and Bitdefender hold the best aggregate scores, 10 points and 9.6 points respectively, with results from all four labs.

Good Malware Protection Scores

McAfee's real-time malware protection proved quite effective in my hands-on testing. Many antivirus products scan files on any access, even the minuscule access that occurs when Windows Explorer lists the file name, size, and so on. McAfee doesn't scan programs until just before they execute.

In almost every case, McAfee quarantined the sample before the process even showed up in Task Manager. Along with each quarantine notification popup, I got an odd message from Windows, "Insufficient system resources exist to complete the requested service." In a few cases, McAfee disinfected the sample, leaving a virus-free executable. It detected 96 percent of the samples and scored an excellent 9.5 of 10 possible points. Emsisoft detected every single sample, but a few cases of imperfect blocking pulled its score down to 9.4 points.

Tested with my previous set of samples, several products did even better. Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus and Comodo detected 100 percent of the samples and scored a perfect 10. Several other products detected all the samples but didn't quite reach 10 points.

My malicious URL blocking test uses a feed of malware-hosting URLs generously supplied by MRG-Effitas. Typically, these are no more than 24 hours old. I launch each URL and record whether the antivirus prevented access by the browser, eliminated the dangerous download, or failed in its protective duty.

In the usual course of events, every product gets a different set of URLs for testing, the very latest ones. This time around I had the chance to test McAfee simultaneously with Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security. Both products scored very well, each in its own way. Trend Micro blocked access to 84 percent of the URLs, and whacked another 13 percent during download. McAfee blocked just 12 percent of the URLs, but eliminated 83 percent of the malware payloads, popping up the warning, "Woah, that download is dangerous!" (Tintin fans will appreciate the reference).

Scores in this test are all over the map, but very few products have done better than McAfee's 95 percent protection. Avira Antivirus Pro also managed 95 percent, and Trend Micro earned 97 percent. Norton still holds the record, with 98 percent protection.

Excellent Protection Against Phishing

The same component that keeps your browser away from dangerous websites also defends against phishing sites. These are fraudulent sites that emulate sensitive websites for the purpose of stealing your login credentials. If you fail to notice that URL of the supposed bank site you're logging into is ripyouoff.com, the fraudsters own your account. Of course, these fakes quickly get blacklisted, but the perps just pop up with new ones.

To test phishing protection, I collect the very newest URLs from several antiphishing websites. I launch each URL in five browsers at once. One browser uses the product under testing for protection, naturally, and another has Symantec Norton AntiVirus Basic to defend it. The other three rely on fraud protection built into Chrome, Firefox, and Internet explorer. I discard any URLs that don't load properly in all five browsers, and any that don't actively seek to steal login credentials. Once I have a hundred or so data points, I run the numbers.

Very few products do as well as Norton in this test. In fact, over 20 percent of recent products turned in a detection rate not only worse than Norton's, but also lower than that of all three browsers. Like Check Point ZoneAlarm PRO Antivirus + Firewall, McAfee matched Norton in this test, and that's very good—vastly better than when I tested the previous version. Webroot, Trend Micro, and Bitdefender are the only recent products that did better than Norton.

The WebAdvisor component that handles fraudulent and dangerous URLs has a few more useful tricks. Some fraudulent or malicious sites attempt to catch the unwary by typosquatting, registering domains that are just slightly different from popular destinations. If you type, say, "pyapal.com" it politely asks if perhaps you intended to type PayPal.

You can configure it to rate links in search results, and stay safe by only clicking those with a green icon. Pointing your mouse at an icon reveals the categories that contributed to its rating, and you can click a link to view a full site report. Among other things, this report includes a map of closely associated sites and a list of the domain's DNS servers.

I did run into some trouble with site reports. The in-browser message that warns you away from malicious or fraudulent URLs also includes a link to view the full site report. However, in almost every case when I clicked that link I got a strange error message rather than a report. I also found that for some links marked as dangerous in search results, the site report called them harmless. My McAfee contacts verified that some of the servers aren't handling site report requests properly, and that they're still working on it.

Quiet Firewall

Most security companies reserve firewall protection for the full-blown security suite, but McAfee puts it right in the standalone antivirus. In testing, the firewall correctly stealthed all ports and resisted the web-based attacks I threw at it. Since the built-in Window Firewall can do the same, this test is only significant if a third-party firewall fails it.

Those of us who've been around long enough remember the early personal firewalls, with their incessant, incomprehensible queries. Should SysWhatever.exe be allowed to connect to the internet? Who knows! Like Norton, Bitdefender, and others, McAfee doesn't rely on the untrained user to make these decisions. In its default Smart Access mode, the firewall makes those decisions internally. If you get nostalgic for popups, you can dig into the settings and change Smart Access to Monitored Access, but really…don't. Yes, there are tons of ways to configure and fine-tune the firewall, but the average user should just leave them alone.

Not being an average user, I did play with some of the settings. I turned on Monitored Access and noted that the firewall correctly asked what to do when my hand-coded browser tried to get online. I enabled Intrusion Detection and hit the test system with 30-odd exploits generated by the CORE Impact penetration tool. As before, none of the exploits succeeded in infecting the fully patched test system, but the firewall took no active part in exploit defense.

Firewall protection isn't much use if a malware coder can craft an attack that disables it. As part of my firewall testing, I attempt to disable protection using techniques that a coder could implement. I didn't find any way to turn off protection by tweaking the nearly 800 keys and more than 3,000 values McAfee adds to the Registry, so that's good.

I tried to kill off its 14 processes, but it protected all of them except the one that implements WebAdvisor. Half of its essential Windows services were also protected, but I managed to disable the other half. Clearly the developers know how to protect processes and services. Why not extend protection to all of them?

Useful Bonus Features

The presence of a firewall isn't the only justification for the "Plus" in this product's name. It's brimful of useful, security-related bonus features.

The My Network page lists all the devices it sees on your network, identifying those it can by name and listing the IP address of others. It shows online/offline status and displays those that have McAfee protection in color. You can set up a trust relationship between multiple Windows boxes using My Network, which allows you to monitor and even configure security remotely.

My Network has been around for many years. There's another, newer feature that takes the concept to the next level. If you click the button to protect more devices, you get three choices: PC or Mac; Smartphone or table; and Unprotected devices. This last choice lists the devices on your network that could benefit from McAfee protection but don't yet have it. Initially I thought this feature wasn't working, but it turns out that McAfee waits as much as 24 hours before populating the list.

Some hackers devote their time to finding security holes in popular apps or even operating systems, and creating attacks that breach security using these holes. Opposing them, software companies try to patch these holes as quickly as they can. But you, the user, must do your part by installing those security patches. McAfee's Vulnerability Scanner reports on products that need update, and (when possible) automates the update process.

Deleting a file in Windows just sends it to the Recycle Bin, and even when you bypass or empty the bin, your deleted file data remains on your disk, subject to forensic recovery. The Shredder tool overwrites files before deletion, to foil forensic recovery. Five shred types range from Quick (which overwrites file data once) to Comprehensive (which runs a whopping 10 overwrite passes). You can shred the Recycle Bin, or Temporary Internet Files, or any file or folder you really want permanently deleted.

The QuickClean component scans your computer for cookies and temporary files. These both use up valuable disk space and potentially provide a snoop with information about your browsing and computer use habits. After a scan, QuickClean lists the types of junk files it found, and their aggregate size. You can drill down to see details, but there's no option to exempt particular files from deletion, or to reverse a cleanup run that somehow deleted something it shouldn't have.

McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac)

As noted, your McAfee subscription doesn't just protect Windows boxes. You can also install protection on your macOS and mobile devices. I've reviewed McAfee AntiVirus Plus (for Mac) separately. If you want all the details of my evaluation, please read that review. Note that McAfee is gradually rolling out a new user interface for the Mac product, one that very closely resembles the Windows edition. On my test system, though, it installed with the old interface.

The macOS edition lacks most of the bonus features that you get under Windows. It scans for malware on access, on demand, and on schedule, as expected. It includes a full, two-way firewall. And it nominally includes the same protection against malicious and fraudulent sites that you get on a Windows box. However, an update to Safari back in March broke the SiteAdvisor feature, and in the current version, it's still not fixed.

Android and iOS Coverage

To install McAfee on a mobile device, you click Protect more devices, select Smartphone or tablet, and either email or text a link to an account on the device. The link comes with an activation code that you enter to connect the new installation with your account.

Android devices get a good deal more than Mac in terms of protective features. In addition to antivirus and WebAdvisor, you get the ability to remotely locate, track, lock, and wipe your device, with the option to do a remote backup before wiping. You can also back up your data at any time, and restore to the same device or a different device.

If it's just about to run out of power, your Android device transmits its location using the S.O.S. feature. Android security products from Lookout and Bitdefender do something similar. App protection points out too-broad permissions for apps on your device and ranks them by level of privacy sensitivity. McAfee can filter unwanted calls and texts, and its CaptureCam silently snaps a photo of someone who found (or stole) your device. Wi-Fi security warns when you connect to an unsecured hotspot, and actively cuts the connection if it detects shenanigans. There's a battery optimizer to eke out more screen time. It can send notifications to your Android Wear watch, and pair the watch with another device so you don't leave either behind.

The feature set is quite extensive, even more so in the latest edition. The app's warnings about unsecured Wi-Fi networks have been enhanced for clarity, and there's a brand-new ransomware protection component. Alas, I couldn't see that component in action, because all of my ransomware samples target Windows.

Yes, you can install McAfee on your iOS devices, but what you get is pretty sparse. You can remotely locate (but not lock or wipe) the device. It backs up your contacts to the cloud. The Media Vault is a PIN-protected storage location for your photos and videos, a feature I've never felt the need for, and the CaptureCam feature only kicks in when somebody fails to unlock the vault three times. As on Android, the SOS feature records the device's location just before it runs out of juice. That's it.

The user interface on iOS has received an update featuring what the company calls cards. Three always-present feature tiles offer quick access to Media Vault, Contacts Backup, and Find Device. If there's a problem, such as malware detected, a problem card slides in above the feature tiles. Recommendation cards slide in below the feature tiles, advising, for example, that you should turn on SOS or automatic backup of contacts. It's an attractive interface, but very different from the look of McAfee on other platforms.

Comprehensive Protection

McAfee AntiVirus Plus doesn't always get the best marks from the independent labs. That honor goes to Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Kaspersky, though McAfee did earn excellent scores in all my hands-on tests. You get the most comprehensive protection when you install it on Windows. The Android edition is also quite full-featured, but you get less protection under macOS and still less on iOS devices. Despite this somewhat mixed bag, however, for an eclectic household with a mix of platforms, its unlimited licensing is a very good deal.

However, if what you need is antivirus protection for a defined number of PCs, you'll do better with one of our other Editors' Choice products. As noted, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Kaspersky Anti-Virus are the darlings of the labs. Norton Antivirus Basic extends excellent antivirus protection with a powerful Intrusion Detection System. And Webroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus is the tiniest antivirus around. Your choice will depend on exactly what you want to protect.

About the Author

Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted b... See Full Bio

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